For the series opener, "The Godfather," Vivo's Sicilian-inspired menu includes the Five Family Salad; meatballs and grilled sausages in a five-hour red sauce, like the one Clemenza taught Michael Corleone how to make; and for dessert, cannoli, as in "Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

Of course, these references make more sense if you've actually seen "The Godfather."

The $35 price includes wine pairings and complimentary "Italian popcorn," flavored with Italian spices. The a la carte menu will also be available for those who want it.

• Leinenkugel's Beer Garden at Power Plant Live kicks off a 50 States of Beer promotion this Thursday. The weekly event will feature a selected brewery and traditional foods from one of our 50 states, even the bad ones.

The cross-country journey starts, randomly, with Maine. The first featured brewery is Allagash White from Portland's Allagash Brewing Co., and the special a la carte menu includes lobster bisque with sherry, lobster grilled cheese sandwiches and lobster rolls.

• Artifact Coffee no longer offers regular dinner service, but this Woodberry Kitchen project has been stepping up its schedule of evening events. Most weeks, the Hampden cafe hosts a taco night on Tuesday and a Bowl and a Beer night ($8 for dinner and a can of beer) on Wednesday. The full schedule is on the cafe's website.

On Aug. 2, the Hampden cafe will host a five-course dessert dinner, which will basically be an introductory showcase for the Woodberry family's new executive pastry chef Sarah Malphrus. The courses will be paired with dessert wines, ciders and mead selected by Woodberry's new wine director, Ken McClure. Tickets are $55. Call 410-449-2287 for reservations.

Over the past several years, Baltimore's bar food has steadily improved, with sophisticated flavors and techniques along with a farm-to-table ethos. But what about post-bar food? When the evening's winding down and you realize you're ravenous, the culinary choices are often just not that great.

In Cockeysville, good Italian food is often found in the most unlikely places. Tucked into nondescript shopping centers here and there, locally owned Italian restaurants offer some of the best meals in the zip code.